Chapter 20. I Thought We Wouldn’t Meet Again

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Thud, thud!

The loud footsteps echoing from outside made Callon and Nisha glance at each other.

They were on the fifth floor of the Ash Merchant Guild building, a floor inaccessible to anyone without permission.

Only one person could make such a racket in such a place.

Bang, bang, bang!

Before the sound of what seemed like knocking or breaking down the door even stopped, the door swung open and the owner of the footsteps entered.

“I’m here…! Ugh!”

Ino, who was about to enter the room, staggered as he was hit by a pile of documents.

“You, you idiot. Can’t you walk quietly?”

Nisha, whose temper had become razor-sharp due to late-night work over the past few days, had thrown the documents straight at his face.

“What’s going on? Normally you would have dodged it annoyingly.”

Callon remarked in a nonchalant voice as he watched the scene.

Callon himself, as well as Nisha and Ino, were all trained enough to protect themselves. Among them, Ino was particularly specialized.

He even served as Callon’s bodyguard when at the headquarters.

For someone like him to reveal his presence so blatantly and not even dodge something thrown at him was unusual.

It was the first time Ino seemed so out of sorts.

However, he hadn’t completely lost his mind as he deftly caught the falling documents while holding his face.

“Ah, really. Isn’t this too much!”

“Shut up. Why are you making such a fuss? If you’re causing this much noise over something trivial, I’ll hang you upside down out the window and shake you all night.”

At Nisha’s sincere threat, Ino shivered. But soon, he puffed out his chest and spoke confidently.

“I’ve finally found it.”

“What?”

“What?”

Callon and Nisha asked simultaneously, still nonchalant.

“What do you mean, what! The task you assigned me! And the one that’s been bothering all of us!”

At Ino’s words, Callon and Nisha stood up simultaneously.

“What?”

“No way?”

Seeing the surprise on their faces, Ino exclaimed triumphantly.

“Yes. I’ve finally found someone proficient in ancient languages and a genius at cryptography!”

“What? Where?”

“No, more importantly, who is it? How many in total?”

“Well, it’s just one person.”

At Ino’s answer, Nisha picked up another stack of documents.

“What do you mean? You said you found someone proficient in ancient languages and cryptography. Why only one?”

“Because that one person has all those talents.”

“…What?”

Nisha looked at Ino with an expression that said he was talking nonsense. Poor guy. He must have finally lost it after being pressured by Callon lately.

It was hard to believe otherwise. They had been searching for such talented individuals for months. And suddenly he found one? And just one person?

“Ino, do you need a vacation?”

Callon also looked at Ino with a slightly pitying gaze, unable to believe his words. Ino, aware he seemed out of his mind, spoke in frustration.

“I’m not talking nonsense! I really found someone!”

“So, who is it? What’s their name?”

“Well, her name is… Miss Aelfrieda. Aelfrieda Ruenim Aradis.”

As soon as Ino answered, Callon’s movement halted. Aelfrieda. At the sound of that name, a face immediately came to mind.

The one with sparkling eyes who asked him to explain the Law of Leman-Karthi.

“Aelfrieda?”

“Yes. Do you know her?”

“Well, um. Does she have about this height, brown hair like ripe wheat, quite big eyes, and… a cute impression…?”

Listening to Callon’s description, Nisha and Ino looked puzzled. Nisha had an expression like ‘Did he eat something bad today?’ while Ino had an expression like ‘Is that what the person I saw looked like?’

“Well, that hair color matches. And the eye color was similar.”

“Then it seems to be her. It’s unlikely there are two people with that name.”

The evening he met Ael, Callon was reading documents related to Denertum and saw the name Aelfrieda in the mythology section.

A figure said to be the strongest heir of the Golden Rule in the past in the mythology here.

Due to their frequently changing appearances, it’s unclear if the figure was male or female, but like most heroes in Denertum’s mythology, they are usually perceived as male.

To give such a name to their daughter. It must be an uncommon case in Denertum.

So it must be the Aelfrieda he knew.

“Then there’s no need to hesitate, is there? Let’s go visit her residence immediately!”

Ino exclaimed vigorously, but Callon’s expression darkened. He recalled the atmosphere of the Viscount Aradis household he saw that day.

The family openly looked down on her, treating their daughter like a servant.

Judging by the conversations they exchanged while he was explaining economics, she clearly hadn’t received higher education at the academy level.

If she had, she could have asked her questions to a tutor instead of Callon.

Yet Ael, who relentlessly asked questions that day, seemed desperate.

As if she wouldn’t have another chance to hear explanations if not from Callon.

So, he casually asked how she studied. Surprisingly, it was almost entirely self-taught.

Ael had never had a tutor except for the outdated lessons deemed necessary for a ‘lady.’

Yet she possessed knowledge at the level of the Imperial Academy.

Not only that, but Ael immediately understood his explanations, clarified concepts she was vague about, and applied them right away.

Callon, who wasn’t quick to judge others, had the word ‘genius’ flash through his mind at that moment.

He thought that if she was this capable without proper education, she would become extraordinary once she started receiving high-level education.

So, honestly, Callon hesitated several times as he headed to her home.

‘Should I suggest she quit her servant job and join the Ash Merchant Guild?’

If she received education with the guild’s support, Ael would surely become a valuable asset to the Denertum branch.

Therefore, after arriving, he intended to observe the atmosphere of her employer and propose a job change to Ael.

But Ael was not a commoner; she was a noble. Moreover, her family was a typical, rigid noble household of Denertum.

So Callon neatly abandoned his plan to win her over.

Denertum’s nobles still kept their distance from and were wary of people from the Empire. Although more were becoming friendly due to the large sums involved in trade, many remained hostile.

In such a situation, approaching a noblewoman unnecessarily could cause trouble.

‘It’s unfortunate, but it’s not like we lack alternatives.’

Ael was a person of remarkable intelligence, but the Ash Merchant Guild already had countless individuals with more knowledge than her.

After all, wasn’t the Ash Merchant Guild the most reliable patron of the Empire Academy? The professors and graduates of the Empire Academy were essentially talents of the Ash Merchant Guild.

Moreover, what stopped Callon from pursuing further was Ael’s attitude.

If Ael had shown more defiance against her parents at that time, he might have helped her. But Ael merely obeyed them like a docile lamb, even while being treated harshly.

‘Then there’s no need for me to intervene.’

Dragging along someone without motivation was not his style.

He wasn’t kind or free enough to help everyone passionately just because he felt sorry for them.

Thus, his kindness was limited to ensuring Ael wasn’t too disregarded that day.

What happened to Ael afterward was not his concern.

‘I thought we wouldn’t meet again.’

He never expected to encounter her name again so unexpectedly.

“It seems difficult with her.”

“Do you know her well?”

“Not well, but I know what the atmosphere around Miss Aelfrieda is like.”

Callon explained to the two the state of Ael’s family as he had seen it.

Hearing this, Ino’s shoulders, which had been filled with joy and triumph until a moment ago, began to droop.

“But still… shouldn’t we at least try? After all, we’re the ones in a hurry. If something like last time happens again…”

When Ino said ‘something like last time’, all three of them let out a long sigh simultaneously.